Dominica’s Lady of song, Ophelia Marie has been giving advice to young aspiring artists and musicians in Dominica, ahead of a special event this evening, which is being held to honour her.
The affair, which is dubbed “Mama Creole”, is the culmination of a number activities which have been organized to observe the 40th anniversary of Dominica’s Lady of Song.
Ophelia spoke at a panel discussion which was held at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus earlier this week as part of her anniversary celebrations.
“Last time we were here [OECS Music Talk], we were talking about young artists and some of the things that we did and they could pay attention to and one of the things “Mama Creole” will do [is] to insist on the value of listening because I think if I can have some kind of success now, is because I listened and Mama Creole always listens,” she said.
She continued, “I can tell the young people to get into understanding their craft and build on their craft. Get into understanding music and what it represents…I have a team and Mark (her husband) is a big part of that team, who can understand having a song knowing to register it so that it is protected. That is one of the main streams for a song writer, to get money from your songs. And if you don’t have money, you cannot do recordings; you cannot move from one place to another to be able to share your work.”
The Dominica music icon said Dominica needs to find a way to help young song writers, artists and musicians because they cannot be left to fend for themselves, treated badly and disrespected.
Ophelia will be the highlight of the “Mama Creole” show as she celebrates 40 years in music. The event is schedule to take place at the strip (Lalay Coco) on Saturday, May 11th from 9pm. and Sunday, May 12th from 6pm.
Ophelia said the show is a big concept because it recognizes the contributions made by creole women.
Tonight’s show will also feature French singer Stafane Ravor, Cool Sessions band from St. Thomas and several local acts.
Below is video clip featuring Cool Session’s lead vocalist.
Hope the show went well and is not the swansong of our native warbler.